Consumer Reports Kitchen Planning and Buying Guide September 2018

You know you want top-notch products in your new kitchen, but how can you tell the really great gear from the not-good-enough? Good news: Consumer Reports is here to help. Our team of kitchen pros—editors, researchers, market experts, and more—will guide you every step of the way, sharing insights straight from our labs on everything from fridges to flooring, and more. When you’re ready to shop, turn to the Buying Guide on page 22. You’ll find thousands of ratings and reviews based on the exhaustive tests our engineers run on every product we evaluate. And our surveys of CR members reveal which brands are most likely to break, so you can avoid pricey repairs. You can trust our advice because we’re nonprofit and independent: We buy all the products we test, and we…

TREND WATCH Watercolor Wow Factor After a long love affair with neutrals, designers are again flirting with color and pattern. One look we like: watery, washed-out patterns, like these Duquesa Fatima tiles; walkerzanger.com. Make a Splash Finishing Touches In the 1980s, polished brass owned the kitchen. The 1990s brought in the cool gleam of chrome. Next came the warmer look of nickel and the subtle texture of brushed finishes. Today? Well … brass is back (but not as yellow or shiny as before), chrome and nickel are holding their own, and matte black is coming on strong. Basically, you can’t go wrong with any finish, and mixing is even better. Case in point: the Amp collection from CB2, $5.95 to $24.95; cb2.com. Simple Steps to Great Gallery Walls New art sources and a clever app make it…

ASK ANYONE: No matter what the occasion, eventually everyone ends up in the kitchen. And Emily Henderson, a designer and television host, is no exception. After working her styling magic in several other rooms in Nicole and Howard Lorey’s Los Angeles house—including the breakfast area—her team finally tackled the woefully out-of-date kitchen. The existing space was a hodgepodge of styles, with cabinets and built-in ovens dating back to the 1960s, drab 1980s tile, and a few newer appliances. Nothing felt cohesive, and there wasn’t nearly enough storage. Basically, the compact kitchen needed a fresh start. “Nicole and Howard wanted to modernize everything while bringing in some traditional elements that complemented the 1930s architecture of the house,” Emily says. The layout also needed some work. “We wanted to make the space a little…

“WHEN WE BOUGHT the house we figured we’d wait a year or two and then redo the kitchen, which was really small,” says Alex Register of the Minneapolis home he shares with his wife, Charissa, their foster child, and their dog, Oliver. “But after about six months, we cracked.” A cramped layout was just one of the flaws that pushed the couple to remodel. The space was also closed off from the first-floor living areas, which made entertaining difficult, and there was little storage, no dishwasher, and no prep space to speak of. “There was maybe 1 square foot of counter space,” says Alex, a problem for a couple that likes to cook together. Coming Up With a Plan Although they had a fairly good idea of what they wanted from the update—a…

When cabinets and countertops are limited, follow the advice of professional organizers to avoid a cluttered mess. Make the most of walls, backsplashes, and other vertical spaces; think “double-duty” whenever possible; and don’t let a single square inch go to waste. Here, some space-expanding helpers to keep your small kitchen neat. Wall-mounted rail and hook systems offer customizable, add-on storage where you need it. Ikea Fintorp Series, $3 to $17. ikea.com Tiered racks and accessories like a cutting board can make the kitchen sink work even harder. Kohler Prolific Sink, $900. kohler.com Take a tip from Julia Child: A wall-mounted pegboard is ideal for hanging kitchen essentials. Rebrilliant Kitchen Organizer, $78. wayfair.com Keep the cabinets you have tidy with DIY organizers. Lower Cabinet Organization Starter Kit, $204. containerstore.com Hidden storage under the cutting board plus…

Color experts keep an eye out for trends, traveling around the country and abroad taking cues from the arts, fashion, pop culture, the automotive industry, and elsewhere. And major paint manufacturers have in-house color experts who collect these trends, create new palettes, name each color, and more. Here are insights from experts at six paint brands on the paint colors they say will be popular this year, plus tips for trying them in your own space. GLIDDEN Deep Onyx (07/000) A true black, with no hints of blue, says Misty Yeomans, color marketing manager for Glidden. How to use it: Try it on an accent wall, for starters. Pair with white for contrast, and add yellow and blue accents for interest. Recommended sheen: Matte black looks stunning, Yeomans says. Try an eggshell or semigloss for…